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Caesar Salad with Flank Steak Burgers and Garlic Crostini

This is my second month that I have participated in the Burger Club. Last month was the grilled cheeseburger which was ok but wasn't what I was expecting when I joined the burger club. I was expecting something more like this Caesar burger. Something that is not like a burger you have ever made at home. I for one have never seen this burger before and was excited to get the chance to try my hands at making one. Kim over at Stirring the Pot picked this burger for the month and I am glad that she did. I will admit that I was nervous about anchovies. I confess that I am one of those people that love Caesar salad dressing but get squeamish around those tiny canned fish. So I opted to not mash up the anchovies and I went with buying anchovies paste instead and blended the dressing in my magic bullet to make it smooth. It worked out perfectly for everyone, you had the salty flavor from the anchovies and I didn't have to do the gross dirty work that would probably make me think twice of eating the burger.

On to the burger! It was easy to make. I did not have ground steak at the commissary but my wonderful mother bought me a kitchen aid mixer a couple of years ago for Christmas. So with my meat grinder attachment I had all I needed to make my own ground steak. I mixed the burgers and salad dressing ahead of time so that when it came time for dinner I was ready to rock n roll. Here were a couple of issues I had at the commissary aka grocery store, they did not have any good looking romaine lettuce so I grabbed green leaf lettuce instead and the only sour dough bread they had would of made mini slider burgers but they did have ciabatta bread on sale so I used that instead which I think worked out well. I really tried to stick as close to the recipe as I could but some things just did not work in my favor. Speaking of flavor I think the next time I make this, yup there is going to be a next time, I will make it with ground chicken. You know a burger take on a chicken Caesar salad.

I really liked this burger and so did my husband. I think that if you are on a budget and have a grinder, buying a piece of steak on sale and grinding it yourself will help save money. My husband liked the dressing on it and said next time I should marinate the steak in the dressing before grinding it. I just thought the whole thing was pretty original. I had never seen anything like it nor did it sound like something that would be easily forgotten. If you are a burger lover and you like Caesar salads then this is a must. It's easy, tasty and just plain interesting. You won't be disappointed in this beauty.

3 tablespoons Zinfandel (feel free to use any red wine or even beef broth)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, for brushing the grill rack

Bread

4 ciabatta rolls

Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing on the bread

4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

Also

1-1/2 cups washed, dried, and shredded romaine lettuce

Shredded, freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese to tastePrepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high.

To make the dressing, combine the olive oils, vinegars, and salt in a small jar with a lid and shake until well blended. Mash the anchovy fillets and garlic together on a cutting board until they form a paste; transfer to a bowl. Add the oil and vinegar mixture, lemon juice, and parsley and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

To make the patties, combine the steak, parsley, shallots, garlic, Zinfandel, salt, lemon pepper seasoning, and pepper in a large bowl. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the bread slices.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with olive oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference 5-7 minutes on each side for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, to make the crostini, brush the bread slices to taste with olive oil on both sides. Place the bread slices on the outer edges of the rack, turning once to toast lightly. Remove and rub each side of the toast with 1/2 garlic clove.

To assemble the burgers, combine the lettuce and the dressing in a large bowl and toss lightly. On 4 of the bread slices, place an equal portion of the salad, a patty and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Top with the remaining slices and serve.

21 comments:

I'm a total whimp. I buy the anchovy paste in the tube. You have some great recipes on here. I need to get more up myself before the scraps of paper I've jotted them down on get lost. The food section on my blog is like my recipe index...lol

I totally wimped out this month and didn't make this burger because of the anchovies. I didn't think about the anchovy paste but I still would have been squeamish. I'm weird about that. I would EAT it, but I didn't want to make it. Clearly I'm going to have to invite myself over to your place to try it. :-)

Your burger turned out great! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for taking part! And if there's ever a burger you don't like - don't feel obligated to make it - you don't have to join every challenge to be a part of it.

Thanks so much for making the burger:) I think your husband had a great idea of marinating the steak before grinding it up and I also love the idea of a making a chicken caesar salad burger. Sounds like you and your husband are full of great and creative ideas! Your burger looks terrific.